CHENNAI: The World Bank recently gave its consent for a proposal to construct 17,000 houses under the Emergency Tsunami Reconstruction Project, according to Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

The development of rural housing in a manner that results in adequate, quality shelter for inhabitants of Mahatma Gandhi’s “real India” is a challenge before the nation. What are the issues confronting rural housing development in India? The litany of its woes is endless.

Democracy," Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi once said, "is the art and science of mobilising the entire physical, economic and spiritual resources of various sections of the people in the service of the common good of all."

Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (Erra) has spent over Rs 83 billion for reconstruction of rural houses and previously kutcha houses, which are now seismically resistant pacca houses spread all over the earthquake-affected areas, said Deputy Chairman of Erra Lieutenant General Sajjad Akram here on Wednesday.

As many as 802 houses have been sanctioned to the district under the Indira Awas scheme.

Steps will be taken to distribute the benefits equally to all Gram Panchayats, said Zilla Panchayat President S N Rajarao.

In a disclosure that can put the States on the back foot, the Outcome Budget of Rural Development Ministry shows that States did not spend a whopping Rs 18,000 crore out of their total allocation of Rs 56,854 crore in the last fiscal.

The 2009 Budget is a politically powered effort to counter the effects of the global slowdown. Higher allocations across schemes for rural India are expected to trigger demand at the bottom of the pyramid and drag the economy out of the trough. The idea, though, is a big gamble. Already fiscal deficit is 6.8 per cent and borrowings at a record high.

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Focus on improving rural housing.

Mumbai, July 6 Rural housing sector could get a big boost as the Budget has allocated Rs 2, 000 crore to the National Housing Bank

The Census of 2002 to identify the poor in rural areas of India was the third in a quinquennial series. However, it has been appropriately criticised. This paper elaborates on the criticisms, and proposes an alternative set of criteria and methodology for conducting the next (now overdue) census of the rural population to identify the poor.

Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) will spend Rs 4.5 billion on clean drinking water projects in quake affected areas during the next one and half year. According to the sources the funds would be spent in the affected areas on potable water projects while state-of-the-art testing laboratories would also be established in Mansehra, Abbottabad, Battagram and Mingora.

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